Sunday, October 31, 2010

There's only 2 of us here...ghost stories, poem, book give away and drizzling drivel

Well, the weather's been slightly inclement; I heard one of the blokes what chucks a dart at the weather dartboard state we were expected to get a months supply of rain over this weekend.
I think his aim at the dartboard was spot on for a change!
Last time the feral beastie child was up at our block of land at Dunolly - waving a metal detector over the ground with his father - he found several mud bricks insitu, meaning *takes deep Goldilocks pantomime breath*someone's been living on our land once upon a time back in the gold rush era. *snort*
They were a locally made mud bricks, as they were consistent with the other mud brick buildings still standing in town and it cements our suspicions even more that the gold diggings were as far out (or possibly further) as our property but were not 'officially' registered back in the day.A neighbour reported that a deeeeeeeeeep mine shaft opened up on his property with the heavy rains, just over the dividing fence from us and that was anotheree that supposedly didn't exist.Goodness knows what else has been uncovered with these further rains....
Meanwhile History Week here in Melbourne has been a hoot; the feral beastie has been on a tour of the Royal Melb Hosp, listened to a talk by several authors about Halloween, vampires and all things that go bump in the night at the State Library, a tour of the lost cinemas and theatres of Bourke Street and, finally, today we're off on a three hour tour, a three hour tour...the weather started getting rough the tiny ship was tossed, if not for the courage of the fearless crew...
Wait.
Sorry.
It's a TWO hour tour through the heart of Melbourne with historians sharing the lurve of the best kept secrets of Melbourne's history.I'm packing a brolly and aint afraid to use it!

The next Aussie Book Give Away is...
A selection of 28 tales and poems from a wide variety of Aussie authors from yore, several from that old staple Anonymous, all of which are able to be read many times over.
For Halloween I'll pop in one of my favourites that is just one of the several Aussie ghost stories/poems in the book -
There's Only Two Of Us Here by Edward Harrington. (To be read under the covers or by candle light on a wild winter's night)

I camped one night in an empty hut on the side of a lonely hill.
I didn’t go much on empty huts, but the night was awful chill.
So I boiled me billy and had me tea and seen that the door was shut.
Then I went to bed in an empty bunk by the side of the old slab hut.

It must have been about twelve o’clock – I was feeling cosy and warm –
When at the foot of me bunk I sees a horrible ghostly form
It seemed in shape to be half an ape with a head like a chimpanzee
But wot the hell was it doin there, and wot did it want with me?

You may say if you please that I had DTs or call me a crimson liar,
But I wish you had seen it as plain as me, with it’s eyes like coals of fire.
Then it gave a moan and a horrible groan that curdled me blood with fear,
And ‘There’s only the two of us here,’ it moans, ‘There’s only the two of us here!’

I kept one eye on the old hut door and one on the awful brute;
I only wanted to dress meself and get to the door and scoot.
But I couldn’t find where I’d left me boots so I hadn’t a chance to clear
And, ‘There’s only the two of us here,’ it moans. ‘There’s only the two of us here!’

I hadn’t a thing to defend meself, not even a stick or stone,
And ‘There’s only the two of here!’ It ses again with a horrible groan.
I thought I’d better make some reply, though I reckoned me end was near,
‘By the Holy Smoke, when I find me boots, there’ll be only one of us here.’

I get me hands on me number tens and out through the door I scoots,
And I lit the whole of the ridges up with the sparks from me blucher boots.
So I’ve never slept in a hut since then, and I tremble and shake with fear
When I think of the horrible form wot moaned, ‘There’s only the two of us here!’

On this side of the ditch, it was rumoured that my g-g-grandfather Scettrini (who came to NZ via the Victorian goldfields) had buried his gold. The property was dug over after his death to no avail. But apparently recently when a company was digging over ground in the township, they found lots of gold in the surrounds of the Catholic Church.

wow that was a big adventure in ozzie history that the fb has had. How interesting about your block of land too.....the mud bricks must have been such an awesome find.

By the way thanks for the book, Its on my list to read in three weeks time ( when my course is finished), it arrived sat arvo...in fact the odd thing was the postie deliverd our mail as we were heading out at 5.45pm last night for dinner. I have never seen the mail delivered that late.

Actually, all that very inclement weather you are having, I gather some of the blame lies with us, as we have had a very intense anticyclone here keeping the nasties over your way. I dread to think what is about to happen here though when it all finally comes over..... Just as well I have a couple of good books out of the library...

Hi Jayne, We are having alot of rain here too in the UK and its freezing. I hope if you are living on top of a gold mine you will remember your good friend The Vintage Kitten in Blighty ***WINK*** LOL! Seriously though there could be forgotten Gold, How exciting X